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West Bay Beach (General)

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beachlover1952
First Reviewer
5 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
2
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4
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Editor Pick

West Bay Beach - Roatan

  • April 3, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Cantin2 from Quogue, New York
West Bay Beach - Roatan

This is a diver's paradise—clear warm water, an abundance of colorful fish and a very healthy reef system.We had a very short stay 8am - 3pm during our cruise—no question that we were headed to the beach—the ship docks in Coxen Hole just a short walk to town. The main street is lined with shops and colorful kiosks selling local crafts. The West End is more appealing to tourists—that's about 30 minutes away.We had read that you could negotiate taxi fares or even take very inexpensive buses or minivans that transport locals. We walked out of the immediate port area to attempt our bargaining—the taxi drivers seem to have agreed among themselves not to drop their fare—after a few unsuccessful attempts to get a cheap ride to the beach, we agreed on $30 round trip to the West End—small town with restaurants and beach bars (that's where we THOUGHT we wanted to go). Once in the cab, the driver suggested West Bay (we hadn't heard about this area) and wanted $40 round trip. Oh! Oh!, "bait and switch"!!He assured us that we would be very happy there, that the beach was nicer. He offered to take us there and if we didn't like it, he would take us to West End and charge the lower price. We were skeptical, but went along with his recommendation, we wanted beach, snorkeling and no cruise ship crowds.After a long interesting drive through lush mountains with lots of new construction going on and beautiful views of both shorelines, we turn onto a dirt road. We walk through an open air bar to the beach... What a delight!! A beautiful 1/2 mile cove of soft white sand, calm clear water. We rented two chairs for $5.00—the snorkeling from shore was not to our liking, so we hired a small boat for $10 per person for 1 hour. We rode along the shore for a few minutes, a nice sightseeing tour with Winston, our captain and guide, providing a commentary. The reef was colorful, the coral heads covered in vegetation and fans, colorful schools of fish made this their home, I even saw a baby barracuda.Hard sand along the water line made it easy to walk past small hotels, villas, one all inclusive resort, and a few beach bars. Lots of new building in progress. All is clean, people are friendly and all spoke English. Food and drinks are inexpensive. Lobster $16, burgers $5, rum/coke $3. Water taxis take you to the West End for $2 per person.All too soon, it was time to leave... but not forever... soon we will be back for a much longer stay. I don't know how long this area will stay pristine. It reminded us of Negril 20 years ago, and Turks and Caicos 10 years ago. Roatan is about to become very popular—best to go sooner than later.

From journal Central and South America Ports of Call

West Bay Beach

  • April 3, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by beachlover1952 from Danville, California
West bay beach is a 2-mile stretch of white limestone sand overlooking crystal-clear blue water that is as calm as a swimming pool. The second largest reef in the world is less than 100 yards off the beach. You can easily swim to it with your snorkel gear. The Barefoot Dream beach house is less than 100 feet from the water.

From journal Great Vacation in West Bay Beach, Roatan

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